Button officially joins McLaren

Jenson Button wants to keep the number one on the front of his car for as long as possible after joining McLaren from Brawn GP.

The world champion has been revealed as a McLaren driver for the first time and will start testing for the team in February. The picture here was posted by the team on its Twitter feed over the weekend.

“Obviously, my aim is to keep the number one on my car for as long as possible," Button told McLaren’s official website.

"But, at the moment, it's a little bit too early to start talking about the world championship. The backbone of any title challenge is built on good preparation, hard word, focus and dedication.”

Button revealed he would be working with the engineers at the team’s Woking factory ahead of the first Valencia test.

“The next 10 weeks could well largely dictate the destiny of the 2010 world championship, so it's crucial that we start testing very strongly and that we never let up,” he said.

"I'm more motivated than ever to work with the team and my engineers, and I'm extremely positive for the year ahead. Obviously, it's fantastic to be part of one of the most famous names in Formula 1.

“But it's also exhilarating; I'd been at the same team for seven years so this is a big cultural change for me, and something that I'm really looking forward to.”

Button’s team mate Lewis Hamilton revealed he was looking forward to testing the McLaren MP4-25 and working with Button for the first time.

“The first time we’ll start working together is later this month, when we’ll both be at Woking together, then we’ll have the launch and the first test,” he said. “We’ll be sharing the pre-season testing equally, and it will be important to keep a crossover of information between us to make sure we are both pulling in the right direction.”